22 in HPD earned over $50,000 in OT last year

22 officers earned over $50,000 in OT last yearCity controller checking to see if 80-hour rule is being violated

MATT STILES, Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Twenty-two Houston police officers earned more than $50,000 in overtime last year, including seven who doubled their pay with the extra money, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of payroll records.

The 22 — all sergeants or lower-ranking officers — are among more than 100 at those levels who pulled in six-figure incomes last year, the records show.

Overtime policies have come under city scrutiny since the Chronicle reported last month that DWI Task Force officer William Lindsey Jr. earned $100,848 in overtime in 2005, bringing his total pay to $172,576. That's more than Mayor Bill White made.

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Lindsey, who served a 15-day suspension in the early 1990s for falsifying overtime sheets, has declined to comment.

City Controller Annise Parker, already auditing the department's productivity and overtime, said she now plans to focus more closely on the highest-paid employees.

"We're looking at whether there's a pattern of violation of the overtime policy within the department," Parker said. "If you do work a lot of overtime — or if you violate the overtime policy — do you have a higher rate of either injury or discipline?"

The overtime is distinct from the private security jobs police officers work to make extra money. But department policy prohibits officers from working more than 80 hours a week for all jobs combined without a supervisor's approval.

The department is supposed to track time spent working outside jobs. Parker said she plans to review the tracking system to make sure it's adequate to ensure compliance with the 80-hour rule.

"Clearly it's a concern, because you go in with the expectation that maybe an overworked or a tired police officer is not the most efficient and effective," Parker said.

Department officials have emphasized that supervisors make sure their subordinates are fit for duty.

The Chronicle obtained 2004 and 2005 electronic payroll records for all police employees under the Texas Public Information Act. For seven of the 22 officers and sergeants earning more than $50,000 in overtime, it accounted for more than half their pay. And it was nearly half for most of the rest.

Department officials say the officers are productive, dedicated public servants who sacrifice time with their families to enforce the law and follow up in court. They work specialized posts, including the DWI Task Force, traffic enforcement and security at airports.

After Lindsey, the top three overtime recipients were:

•Officer Javier Calvillo, who earned $91,144 in overtime last year working in the department's new Mobility Incident Management Division. The 13-year veteran's total pay was $157,363.
•Officer Alfred Alaniz, also in Mobility, who grossed $88,228 in overtime last year with overall pay of $156,883. He has almost 20 years with the department. .
•Sgt. Edward Robinson, a 21-year veteran who supervises members of the DWI Task Force and made $76,055 in overtime, increasing his total pay to $161,723.
In 2005, Calvillo, Alaniz, Robinson and Lindsey each earned more than the salaries of the city attorney, chief information officer and public health director, among other top city officials. Only about 80 civilian employees get more than $100,000 in annual pay, while 176 inside HPD topped six figures last year.

Fifty-four of them were police lieutenants, captains and assistant chiefs, who earned six-figure incomes but generally weren't eligible for overtime. Police Chief Harold Hurtt made $184,000 last year.

White said last week that overtime patterns in the Police Department and in general should be monitored closely.

"It raises red flags when you have the same employees month after month or year after year having overtime as a long percentage of their pay," he said.

Asked whether an officer should ever make more than he does, White said, "If somebody does a good enough job, I don't have any problem paying them more than somebody higher on the organizational chart."

He also said the city must be careful in setting limits on police overtime, because their jobs don't always fit set schedules. Department officials, too, stress that the extra pay isn't improper, or unexpected.

"We have to balance public safety with the need to control the amount of overtime that we're spending," said Lt. Robert Manzo, a department spokesman. "We're sensitive to the fact that we're paid with taxpayer dollars."

The department's overtime spending went up more than 50 percent from 2004 to last year, from $20 million to $31 million, in part because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, city finance and police officials say.